The Marines, I hear, aren’t letting anybody out.
I don’t know that they’re so picky. The Navy accepted (persued) my friend’s son, who obviously, to me at least, wasn’t suited for military life.
Peace,
mangeorge
Bah, no kidding. If I have one piece of advice to anyone in high school, it is that unless you REALLY want to get into the military (or just like hearing from them), fail the ASVAB 
I made the same mistake of scoring very well on it (pretty much the only test I did score very well on :-p) and they hunted me more stringently than they have for Osama. Almost took a full AF ROTC scholarship, but they ended up only offering a lesser scholarship (after making me meet with some colonel). They still call me, 6 years later. Its creepy. :-/
The military has a lot of rules, but for every rule, they have an exception.
Flat feet won’t keep you out, unless they’re extremely flat, in which case you can have surgery.
I know an F-16 Air Force pilot who is myopic and wears glasses. For every rule, there is an exception…
ACL Knee surgery? No problem, if they want you.
Depression + meds? No problem, under certain conditions, AND you can’t take your meds with you to basic.
Real, Real, Bad vision… can be dealt with.
Color Blind? You probably won’t fly a plane, but you may do other things.
They’ll work with you, sometimes, if they want you bad enough.
If you’re a peacenik and don’t want to be drafted? No problem. They can always make you clean shi*ters.
I guess the point of this post is that there are very few rules that are Absolutely set in stone.
We have…
Deafness
Epilepsy
Everything else seems to have been countered with some kind of exception. I’m pretty safe saying that the following qualify as disqualifying (
):
Blindness
Paralysis
The possibility of a draft has been answered (not likely), and I’m not sure if the OP was considering a draft or not (I think he/she was).
Considering that, I’m pretty sure but not definite about the following:
Extreme obesity
Hemophilia
Probably a host of diseases (malaria, yellow fever, hepatitis…)
Implants (not the boobies kind… well, maybe, dunno
What about HIV? I would imagine that could be a touchy subject, if the soldier/sailor/whatever is wounded.
Anything that’ll cost the military too much to treat.
My dad had a lot of peacenik friends during the Vietnam draft. He knew a guy who gained 400 pounds of so in order to qualify as morbidly obese, and my uncle got off because of his flat feet. Conscientious objectors don’t necessarily have to be religious, from what my father’s told me–he abandoned Catholicism but was able to convince them with an essay that he would only be a detriment to the war effort were he to be drafted.
But, then, what do I know?
I think I’m covered:
Bad eyesight.
Weak eardrums from ear infections when I was younger.
High blood pressure.
Irregular heartbeat.
And I’m only 21
:eek:
Well, I need reading glasses, so pilot training is out…
And having to take psychiatric medication for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and severe depression would probably rule me out.
And I’d like to concur with what Kilt-Wearin’ Man said-reinstating that draft today would be political suicide. For ANY party. And if the situation was bad enough that they’d actually NEED to restart the draft-we’re pretty much talking “alien invasion” level badness-I’d probably WANT to join.
Asthma. My ex-BF joined the Marines voluntarily after HS, and was kicked out when they discovered he had asthma (even though it didn’t bother him in Basic).
If they ever reinstated the draft I doubt that it would be easy to get out of. It’s much easier today to treat medical problems than it was 40 years ago. BTW all branches are not “letting anyone out” It’s not just the marines. Nodody gets to ETS at the moment.
My dad was in the Air Force and had asthma, but he went in as an officer, so the requirements were probably different.
I’m mildly concerned about this since I have an eighteen-year-old brother, but if things got to the point where they were drafting, I would strongly advise him to join up voluntarily. I’d think you’d have a chance at landing in a slightly better situation. (Yes, I know, the military is weird.)
When I registered for the draft (Vietnam era), I was asked if I had identifying marks. I showed him a long scar on my index finger. He told me that scars like they get you out of the draft. The military doesn’t like to have people with pre-service scars coming back after service claiming service injuries. Oh, I also would have had to lose only 2 pounds to be too skinny to draft. Obesity is bad too. I learned some other stuff from draft counselors but these were my 2 biggest outs.
I knew several guys in college that had non-standard discharges from service. There’s a surprising number of ways to get out of the service.
Make’s sense to me, cherryblue_0. I’d only heard about the Marines. Does that include people who’s enlistment is up? I don’t know what ETS is.
Pardon me, but isn’t it somewhat dubious for the board (and the Reader) to be giving draft dodging advice?
Granted, the OP never explicitly said what he was going to do with said advice, but it was certainly implied.
Oh, and you certainly can get into the service with flat feet.
Why is this draft-dodging advice? Presumably the Armed Forces would find out whatever it is at the guy’s induction physical, anyway.
Let’s not get all worked up over draft dodgers before we even have a draft.
Peace,
mangeorge
Sarge, I’m only 18,
Got a ruptured spleen,
And I always carry a purse.
I got eyes like a bat,
And my feet are flat,
And my asthma’s getting worse.
O think of my career,
My sweetheart dear,
And my poor old invalid aunt.
Besides, I ain’t no fool,
I’m going to school,
And I’m working in a defense plant.
-“Draft Dodger’s Rag”, Phil Ochs
Wow. I’ve got two that haven’t shown up on the list yet.
First, I already signed up for the draft… in 1980.
Second, I’m diabetic.
OK, Recruiter (ex) checking in.
Item: What the hell is with all the draft fear? Y’all panicking like virgins in a bordello or something. NOT HAPPENING. Some two-bit yahoos flappin’ their gums to get a sound bite, that’s all.
ITEM: So what if there was a draft? Only a few would be called (just enough to make good losses & shortfall), and most jobs are non-shooting jobs anyway. It requires roughly 11 non-shooters to support one shooter on the front lines. Ya wanna panic over those odds? Be my guest, but it’s silly.
ITEM: They’re still going to be picky, even is there was a draft. You don’t put substandard people in top o’th’line equipment. No seargent ever wants a discipline case or sick-bay commando in their squad. OTOH, someone with cruddy eyesight and bad hearing can still do a great job cataloging stores or fueling aircraft or fixing a radar or… If you’re marginal, you’ll be given a job suited to the service’s needs and your capabilities.
Marines are the pickiest of the services, 'cause they have the least slack in force size and the toughest main-stream job: Storming beaches and such. Smart, fit marines die less, and kill more, and that’s how the marines like it. Army is rather less picky, but if you’ve got a physical disability, like reconstructed feet or knee surgery, go elsewhere. Airforce and Navy fall roughly in-between the Marines and Army, but it’s not a straight-line continuum.
Head injuries, bolts, pins, plates, screws, multiple busted bones, asthma, ritalin use past the age of 12, extreme obesity, bed wetting, epilepsy, hemophilia, anorexia, extreme depression, other psychiatric disorders, enlarged heart, single or abnormal kidney, diabetes, drug adiction or alcholism, AIDS…
The dis-qual list is lengthy. Very lengthy. Some can be waivered, but only in unusual circumstances. Roughly only one person in four actually meets the mental, moral, and physical qualifications to be allowed to join. It’s an elite group, folks. If you qualify, be proud, even if you don’t go.